* All pictures marked are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.

** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.

Description

Watermark:

Noah's Ark and denomination 500. The note also has a transparent window with Noah's Ark.

Noah's Ark (Hebrew: תיבת נח‎; Biblical Hebrew: Tevat Noaḥ) is the vessel in the Genesis flood narrative (Genesis chapters 6-9) by which God spares Noah, his family, and a remnant of all the world's animals from a world-engulfing flood. According to Genesis, God gave Noah instructions for building the ark. Seven days before the deluge, God told Noah to enter the ark with his household and the animals. God then triggers a flood that wipes out all life on land. The story goes on to describe the ark being afloat for 150 days and then coming to rest on the Mountains of Ararat and the subsequent receding of the waters. The story is repeated, with variations, in the Quran, where the ark appears as Safina Nūḥ (Arabic: سفينة نوح‎ "Noah's boat").

The Genesis flood myth is similar to numerous other flood myths from a variety of cultures. The earliest known written flood myth is the Sumerian flood myth found in the Epic of Ziusudra.

Searches for Noah's Ark have been made from at least the time of Eusebius (c. 275–339 CE), and although the historicity of Noah's Ark contradicts the established modern scientific consensus, searches continue to the present day.

The account of the Flood is contained in the first book of the Bible, Gen. 6 - 9.

According to the Bible, in those days a great moral fall of man occurred:

"And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that all the thoughts and thoughts of their heart were evil at all times, and the Lord repented that he created man on earth and grieved in his heart

(Genesis 6: 5,6) "

But at that time there lived a righteous and unblemished man "in his own way" (Gen. 6: 9), pleasing to the Lord, and Noah was his name.

"And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence from them, and, behold, I will destroy them from the earth." Make an ark of gopher wood, make branches in the ark and make it dry with pitch inside and and make it thus: the length of the ark is three hundred cubits, its breadth is fifty cubits, and its height is thirty cubits: and thou shalt make a hole in the ark, and a cubit above it, and make a door to it in its ark, second and third [housing].

(Genesis 6: 13-16) "

Noah did everything as God commanded him. At the end of the construction, God told Noah to enter the ark with his sons and wife, and with the wives of his sons, and also bring into the ark of all the animals in pairs to keep them alive. And take all the food you need for yourself and for animals. Then the ark was shut up by God.

Seven days later (in the second month, the seventeenth (the 27th according to the Septuagint translation) day), rain fell on the earth, and the flood lasted forty days and forty nights on the earth, and water increased, and raised the ark, and it rose above the earth and floated on the surface of the waters. "And the water on the earth increased exceedingly, so that all the high mountains that are under the whole sky were covered" (Genesis 7:19) And every creature that was on the surface of the earth lost its life, only Noah remained and what was with him in the ark .

The water intensified on the earth for a hundred and fifty days after which it began to decrease. "And the ark stopped in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. The water was constantly decreasing until the tenth month; on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains appeared. "(Genesis 8: 4,5)

By the first day of the following year, the water was running out on the ground; and Noah opened the roof of the ark, and in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day, the earth dried up.

"And God said unto Noah, Arise from the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee: bring forth with thee all the animals ... And I will not smite any more the living ... And God blessed Noah and his sons And he said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth ...

(Genesis 8: 15-9: 1) "

God commanded that the length of the ark be 300 cubits (133.5 m); the width is 50 cubits (22.25 m), and the height is 30 cubits (13.35 m). He also commanded Noah to make a hole in the ark, and to the elbow (52 cm.) to bring him up, and make the door to the ark on the side; to arrange in it three branches. These offices ("floors") were to be one above the other. The ark itself should be made of wood "gopher" and osmolit with its resin and separation in it inside and out. Nothing more is said about the arrangement of the ark.

Avers:

On left side is the Folding with a particle of Noah's Ark, which now is in the museum-treasury of Echmiadzin.

The reliquary itself dates back to 1698. On the silver doors there is a hammered image of an angel, who conveys a relic to St. Akop Mtsibinsky (to Jacob Nisibinsky).

Ararat is a Biblical mountain. "And the ark stopped in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat" ("The Book of Genesis"). Particle of Noah's Ark tree is one of the most revered shrines, not only for Armenians, but for the entire Christian world. The history of its acquisition is as follows: Jacob Mtsbinsky wanted to climb the mountain to see the Ark and take a particle from it. After a long and difficult ascent, he fell asleep on a snowy slope; in a dream, he saw an angel presenting him with a piece of the Ark. When Jacob woke up, he saw a piece of a petrified tree; he glorified God and set out on his return journey. Now the shrine is placed in the warehouse - a silver triptych of chased work of the late XVII century. In 1766 a small fragment was broken from the lower left corner of the relic, which the head of the Armenian church Simeon I sent as a gift to the Empress Catherine II in gratitude to the Russian monarchs for their concern for the Armenian people.

In the Bible, in addition, it is narrated that Noah, having descended from the mountain, "began to cultivate the earth and planted a vineyard". And already more than five thousand years (the world's Flood was in 3246 BC), as soon as snow begins to melt in Small Ararat (usually at the end of August), local residents collect grapes. Everyone knows about the Armenian cognac; Armenian wines are not so famous, although Pushkin is a great connoisseur of friendly feasts and therefore a good wine, wrote in his book Journey to Arzrum during the campaign of 1829: "The Karabakh wine is worth some Bourgonian." (worldpilgrim.ru .rus)

The main image of the banknote is the Etchmiadzin Monastery on the background of Mount Ararat. The engraving was done on the motif of the drawings of the Estonian naturalist and physician Johann Friedrich Parrot, who first ascended the Great Ararat, in 1829. From the English edition of 1846.

Etchmiadzin Cathedral (Armenian: Էջմիածնի մայր տաճար, Ēǰmiatsni mayr tačar) is the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, located in the city of Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin), Armenia. According to scholars it was the first cathedral built in ancient Armenia, and is considered the oldest cathedral in the world.

The original church was built in the early fourth century, between 301 and 303, according to tradition by Armenia's patron saint Gregory the Illuminator, following the adoption of Christianity as a state religion by King Tiridates III. It replaced a preexisting temple, symbolizing the conversion from paganism to Christianity. The core of the current building was built in 483/4 by Vahan Mamikonian after the cathedral was severely damaged in a Persian invasion. From its foundation until the second half of the fifth century, Etchmiadzin was the seat of the Catholicos, the supreme head of the Armenian Church.

Although never losing its significance, the cathedral subsequently suffered centuries of virtual neglect. In 1441 it was restored as catholicosate and remains as such to this day. Since then the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin has been the administrative headquarters of the Armenian Church. Etchmiadzin was plundered by the Safavids in 1604, when relics and stones were taken out of the cathedral to New Julfa in an effort to undermine Armenians' attachment to their land. Since then the cathedral has undergone a number of renovations. Belfries were added in the latter half of the seventeenth century and in 1868 a sacristy was constructed at the cathedral's east end. Today, it incorporates styles of different periods of Armenian architecture. Diminished during the early Soviet period, Etchmiadzin revived again in the second half of the twentieth century, and under independent Armenia.

As the main shrine of religious Christian Armenians worldwide, Etchmiadzin has been an important location in Armenia not only religiously, but also politically and culturally. A major pilgrimage site, it is one of the most visited places in the country. Along with several important early medieval churches located nearby, the cathedral was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000.

Mount Ararat (Turkish: Ağrı Dağı; Armenian: Մասիս, Masis and Արարատ, Ararat) is a snow-capped and dormant compound volcano in the extreme east of Turkey. It consists of two major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat, the highest peak in Turkey and the Armenian plateau with an elevation of 5,137 m (16,854 ft); and Little Ararat, with an elevation of 3,896 m. (12,782 ft.). The Ararat massif is about 35 km. (22 mi.) wide at ground base.

Despite the scholarly consensus that the "mountains of Ararat" of the Book of Genesis do not refer to specifically Mt. Ararat, it has been widely accepted in Christianity as the resting place of Noah's Ark. It is the principal national symbol of Armenia and has been considered a sacred mountain by Armenians. It is featured prominently in Armenian literature and art and is an icon for Armenian irredentism. Along with Noah's Ark, it is depicted on the coat of arms of Armenia.

The first efforts to reach Ararat's summit were made in the Middle Ages. However, it was not until 1829 when Friedrich Parrot and Khachatur Abovian, accompanied by four others, made the first recorded ascent.

The Bible mentions the "Ararat Mountains". According to modern ideas, we are talking about Urartu - a region in the north of Assyria and, at other times, a state north of Assyria. Noah's Ark, according to the Bible, ran aground on one of the mountains of the land of Ararat (Gen. 8: 4):

And the ark stopped in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.

According to the Brockhaus Bible Encyclopedia, there is nothing to indicate that the ark has just come to the modern Mount Ararat. In some translations of the Bible into Armenian in the legend of the worldwide flood of the ark, Noah stopped at Mount Masis (Մասիս), that is Ararat.

There is a version that the legend of the Flood, described in the Bible, is associated with Mesopotamian traditions. However, in general, different versions of the legend about the Flood are found among many peoples, including Australia, the islands of Oceania and Indian tribes, which can speak of a more ancient source.

According to Novoseltsev, the Mesopotamian flood myth was in the Assyrian period connected with the southern spurs of the Armenian highland. Joseph Flavius ​​in I in the n. e. reported, referring to the Chaldean of Beros, that the remnants of the ark were preserved "in Armenia on Mount Korduyskaya" - according to Novoseltsev, in the Cordyen Mountains, that is, the mountain range that directly adjoins the Mesopotamian plain from the north.

According to Novoseltsev, the identification of Mount Noah with modern Ararat seems to have developed after the fifth century in church circles outside Armenia, from where it got to this country. According to the Orthodox Encyclopedia, only since the XI-XII centuries. Armenian, and then with other traditions, Masis (the obsolete Armenian name of Ararat) began to be identified with the place where Noah's Ark came.

In the development of this tradition the Europeans gave the mountain the name "Ararat".

Around this tradition, a set of legends developed among the local peoples. Ararat is a sacred place for Armenians. Persian legend calls Ararat the cradle of humanity. It was believed that the village of Ahuri on the slope of Ararat is on the site where Noah built an altar and planted the first vineyard, and its name was derived from the Armenian "he planted a vine"). The name of the city of Marand was taken from the Armenian "here is the mother" and was considered the place of death and burial of Noah's wife. The name of the city of Nakhichevan was interpreted as "it first descended" and was identified with the landing site of Noah. It was believed that at the top of the mountain the Chaldeans worshiped the stars, and three of them followed the Bethlehem star to the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

In top right corner is a free flying dove holding an olive branch in it's beak, signifying that dry land had was sighted.

Denominations in numerals are in the top left and lower right corners. In words - in lower left corner.

Revers:

Noah, his family members, house and wild animals. The engraving was done on the motif of carving wood by the German artist Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (March 26, 1794 - May 24, 1872) "Leaving the Ark".

On the background is Mount Ararat.

"At the end of the building, God told Noah to enter the ark with his sons and wife, and with the wives of his sons, and also bring in the ark of all the animals in pairs to keep them alive and take all the food they need for themselves and for them. animals ".

Noah (Hebrew נֹחַ, Noah - in the Bible (Genesis 5:29) is interpreted as "soothing, appeasing", dr.-Greek Νῶε, Arabic نوح, Nuh) - the last (tenth) of the antediluvian Old Testament patriarchs, taking place in a straight line from Adam. The son of Lamech (Lemech), the grandson of Methuselah, the father of Shem (Shema), Ham and Japheth (Japheth) (Genesis 5: 28-32, 1 Samuel 1: 4).

According to the Bible, Noah was a righteous man in his generation, for which he was saved by God from the World Flood and became the continuer of the human race. For this purpose, God commanded Noah to build the Ark and take there members of his family and a pair of animals of each kind (according to Genesis 7: 2, "pure" animals had to take seven pairs to have a supply for sacrifices). At the end of the flood, the ark was nailed to the mountains of Ararat (Genesis 8: 4), where Noah offered sacrifices to God, and God blessed him and his offspring by concluding a covenant with him (Genesis 9: 1-17). Based on the fact that the name Ararat is equivalent to Urartu, the terrain and the state to the north of Assyria, it is believed that the Ararat Mountains were in Urartu, in which Mount Ararat is also located. According to the Brockhaus Bible Encyclopedia, there is nothing to indicate that the ark has just come to the modern Mount Ararat.

Denominations in numerals are in the top left and lower right corners. In words - in lower left corner.